24 July 2025
Most of us should be familiar with the Caldecott Charter, which in my time at Hatch was read out at formal Meetings at weekends at the start and end of each term. I wonder if someone who was at Caldecott in the late 1990's or so would tell me if at some stage this was scrapped.
I have seen a pic of James King (with others such as Michael Jinks) in early January 1993, at his last Charter Meeting before he officially retired at the end of that month. He later said that one of his successors at Caldecott (now the Foundation) decided to remove old reminders of the heritage of Miss Leila, chapel and so on.
Christianity had been a significant element for Leila Rendel, Phyllis Potter and others for Caldecott in the years from 1911 onwards. The backdrop was that most in Britain were very familiar with basic elements of Christian religion such as hymns, for instance in 1960 when Benjamin Britten recorded a performance of Noye's Fludde. Schools had assembly with rudimentary elements - singing a hymn, reciting the Lord's Prayer. Grace was said at communal meals. Carols were sung as part of Christmas festivities. At Caldecott there were Sunday chapel services, for seniors and then juniors, although there were special arrangements for Catholics.
Most children were not exactly devout in leading a holy life. Some might, had they thought about it, might have reckoned on being cheerfully agnostic. Two or three contemporaries decided they were atheists. Some wondered if religion was the most profitable use of time, but it was normal in those days. Many of us enjoyed the traditions of the simple service, including the music.
Times change and it has been common for overt religion to be sidelined, for example in schools. Although the Charter included worthy principles for living in groups of various kinds, it had a religious basis. Some in charge might not have agreed to remember above all that the sole reason for Caldecott to exist was for it to go forward on an eternal quest for ever seeking to discover God's purpose for His world etc. Perhaps the Foundation has something in place of the old Charter, but maybe there is nothing like it for these modern times.